Chicago, IL – In another day of fickle, shifting breezes along the Belmont waterfront, race managers still managed to complete the Quarter-Final and Semi-Final stages of the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC) Summer Classic A Regatta, with the winner declared from the Round Robin results. Having advanced through each stage successfully to meet US Olympian Sally Barkow in the Final, Bill Hardesty and his Team Line Honors of Tayler Sinks on Main‚ Jack Jennings on Jib, and Nate Hollerback on Bow was declared the event champion when the weak seabreeze failed to re-strengthen enough to conduct even one sudden-death match.

“We had a few lucky breaks this week,” said Hardesty, “but my team sailed great and made it look easy.” Besides being reigning US National Match Race Champion, it probably helped that Hardesty also trained for three days prior to the start of this event in an Advanced Match Racing Clinic held in the equally-matched TOM 28 class yachts used at CMRC.

Hardesty first got passed Guy Mossman, who won the CMRC’s Key West Invitational in January, but had a tough regatta this weekend, finishing 8th overall. Seated in order of finish at the Skipper’s press conference, Mossman joked about his seat at the end of the table. “I’m new to this, so I want to thank all you guys to my right for all the lessons this week!” Nonetheless, Mossman’s 2nd and 4th place finishes in last month’s CMRC’s Chicago Open A and B events stand him in good position to earning an invitation to the next CMRC event, the ISAF Grade 2 Chicago Cup. The other skipper in the running to qualify by the top two results from the four events is Mark Kroening, whose 5th place finish today will put him into the qualification slot if he wins the second half to this long weekend of match race sailing, the CMRC Summer Classic B Regatta.

Next up for Hardesty in the Semi-Final was local-based Steven Lowery, who could not win a match in this stage but whose 4th place finish was to him still gratifying. “Its our best result in a field this talented, so we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made.”

And taking Barkow to a third deciding match, Taylor Canfield pushed Barkow and her team hard, but just could not get the speed needed in this match as the breeze died to a whisper and the powerboats wakes grew in the warm Chicago sun. “I’m just not comfortable in these light and choppy conditions,” said the US Virgin Islander, “So I just couldn’t get comfortable today.” Canfield is the highest-ranked skipper in the field on the ISAF Open match race rankings, and finished third overall.

Racing will resume tomorrow in the CMRC Summer Classic B Regatta, with on courses set near the entrance to Belmont Harbor, and the first start intended for 9:00 AM. Shoreside activities including competitor briefings, press conferences, umpire debriefs and awards ceremonies will be held before and after racing in and around the CMRC floating regatta center moored at the North end of Belmont Harbor.

For more information about the CMRC Summer Classic A regatta, stop by CMRC or contact CMRC Director of Marketing and Programming Beth Paul on 312-542-1505 or visit www.chicagomatchrace.com.

Official Partners of CMRC are CME Group and NYSE Liffe; CMRC’s Official Hotel Partner is City Inns; and CMRC’s Official Apparel Partner is Line Honors.